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Low Milk And Breast Refusal 4 mo

Hi all, I am in quite a dilemma here. 4 months ago i had my baby and knew next to nothing about bfing. There was no one to ask about it, i battled for a week trying to get my dd to latch and drink we gave in a few times and bottle fed formula with tommy tippee closer to nature bottles as i did not want her to develop a prefrence but dd was bfing 3 - 5 times a day and so it was all good then about a week ago she went through a real fussy stage. I thought teething maybe so i just gave her what she wanted(the bottle) but now she is refusing to bf and pulls away from me. I know i can relatch her but the minute i even place her in bf position she starts squrming and arching away from me. If i persist she starts crying. I feel so rejected and helpless. We dont have a hosp to rent a pump and to buy one we would have to go to the next country. I live in zimbabwe and there is no bfing consultant here.
I am thinking about just giving up trying but thought id give it one more shot. What do i do to increase milk suppy and how to get her to relatch with no stress i am a sahm. Please help.

Re: Low Milk And Breast Refusal 4 mo

Welcome to the forum!

Nursing strikes are very common in babies who get bottles from early on. This link explains what to do about them: http://kellymom.com/bf/concerns/child/back-to-breast/. The skin-to-skin and instant reward techniques the link mentions are said to be especially helpful.

It may help to make bottle-feeding a bit more like breastfeeding. When it's time to use a bottle, cradle baby close to your bare breast and tickle her lips with the bottle nipple until she opens WIDE. Pause the feeding frequently in order to get baby used to the normal pauses in flow that come with nursing.

I assume you'd have to go to South Africa in order to rent or buy a pump. You do need a pump, preferably good one, so I think you may want to pack your bags.

Re: Low Milk And Breast Refusal 4 mo

Have you tried to vary your breastfeeding position? Have you ruled out any physical issues like ear infection? Sometimes that can make the traditional nursing position hurt. Some babies accept the breast better when they are drowsy. Skin to skin in the bathtub can also help.
Keep at it, nursing strikes happen, and you can get through it.